


How to Charm a Prince

by sixxon



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Iwaizumi is a prince, M/M, Prince Iwaizumi, but with a twist!, like in their 20s, only a little tho, servant oikawa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-01 03:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6498868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixxon/pseuds/sixxon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iwaizumi is the crowned prince of the kingdom and Oikawa is a charismatic tavern server who uses his good looks to empty out rich patrons pockets. But what happens when it doesn't work on the ever handsome and kind Prince Iwaizumi?</p><p>---------------<br/>Idea by tobiohchan on tumblr, go check her out, she runs an amazing blog!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tobiohchan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobiohchan/gifts).



Oikawa Tooru stood behind the bar of the tavern he worked in, cleaning mugs and glasses, when a patron slammed his cup onto the counter.

“Another,” he says gruffly.

Oikawa puts down the glass in his hand and smiles at the man, he was a lord from the next village over who Oikawa had turned into a _very_ loyal patron.

Oikawa had a reputation through the kingdom for his good looks and charm, maybe not a very large reputation, but a reputation none the less. Much to the pleasure of his boss, Oikawa liked to use his assets to hustle the wealthier customers for large tips, as well as making them order more food and drinks than anyone could ever realistically consume. If there was one thing Oikawa liked more than a good hustle, it was money, and he would almost do anything for it.

Unbeknownst to most people, especially his boss, he was a very skilled pickpocket, learning slight of hand from a younger age more out of necessity than anything else.

“Of course,” Oikawa responds, “maybe you’d like to try our sunflower honey mead instead, I can guarantee it’ll satisfy you,” he offers, shooting the lord a wink.

The man clears his throat and blushes some, “well, if you’re recommending it…”

Oikawa grins and reaches under the bar to pull out a jug of mead, purposefully taking his time with pouring it. He wipes the nozzle of the jar with his fore finger and sticks it in his mouth seductively, humming before pulling it out.

“Just as good as always,” he drawls.

The lord sputters as he digs through his pocket and pulls out a sac, plopping it onto the counter.

“For the drinks,” he says.

Oikawa peers in the bag before he pockets it and leans closer to the lord’s ear, “next drink is on me,” he whispers before backing up.

The man nods quickly, grabbing his drink and stalking back over to his other buddies.

Oikawa takes a longer look into the pouch and grins, he’d received more than enough to get him through the next week, and it was only Saturday.

Lords like him were an easy hustle, they were men with hidden desires and wives that didn’t want anything to do with them. Oikawa made it his business to know the personal lives of the taverns richer patrons, it helped him figure out how he should act towards them to get what he wanted.

Oikawa pats his pocket down to make sure his money was secure and was just about to return to his task of cleaning when the tavern door swings open with a loud bang.

Silhouetted in the doorway was a large man with a few people behind him. When Oikawa’s vision adjusted, he noted that the man was wearing very regal clothes, he grinned. The man made his way up to the bar with his entourage of people training behind him. He had tanned skin, short black hair, and his olive-hazel, nearly brown, eyes were narrowed in annoyance.

 _He’s good looking,_ Oikawa thinks to himself, _and probably loaded, an easy hustle._

There were two men behind the first man, one on either side. On the left was another man with tanned skin and dark hair, but he looked more like a radish, at least Oikawa thought so, and the one to the right had short light brown hair and thin eyebrows.

“Are you the management?” The man in the front asks, his presence alone is demanding, let alone how loud he was. He seemed angry.

Oikawa smiles, the kind of smile he reserves for an especially good hustle, “I’m afraid that my boss, Nobuteru, is out at the moment, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I help you.”

The broad man hums, pauses a moment, and nods, “were you working yesterday?” he asks.

Oikawa cocks his head to the side and grins a little more broadly, “I’m always here when I’m needed.”

“Good,” he said bluntly, “do you know of the man that was kicked out yesterday?”

Oikawa hummed and tapped a finger to his lips and batted his eyelashes, “I do recall something like that, perhaps we could talk more over some drinks? I’d be happy to serve you.”

The man seems to consider this and then nods to his attendants, “then,” he starts, “three mugs of ale,” he finishes, handing Oikawa a silver for the drinks.

Oikawa pockets the coin and gestures towards a secluded table off to the side of the tavern, “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

The men nod and walk over to take their seats. As Oikawa is pouring the ale, he feels a tug at his sleeve.

“Um, Oikawa,” a feminine voice says.

Oikawa looks down to see Yachi, the small blonde waitress who worked in the tavern with him on weekends, he hums in acknowledgement.

Yachi shifts her weight from foot to foot, “do you not know who that is?” she asks nervously.

Oikawa shakes his head, “someone with money if the clothes are anything to go by.”

“Um,” she starts, “well, it makes sense you wouldn’t know him, his face isn’t very publicized, and you’ve only been here less than a year…” Oikawa cocks his head at her, letting her continue before he interjected, “that’s Prince Iwaizumi, the Crowned Prince.”

Oikawa’s eyes light up; this was a better catch than he thought.

He spared a glance towards the three men at the table and then looks back to Yachi, “and the other two?”

“Personal knights…” she responds. Oikawa grins mischievously and Yachi uses her hand to grip Oikawa’s arm, “Oikawa… I don’t really think that it’s the best idea to… uh… you know; do as you do…” she trailed off.

“I never said I was going to seduce him,” Oikawa lies, “I’m only going to turn him into a regular, and that isn’t so bad, right?”

Yachi hums nervously, but slides him a tray for the ale regardless. Oikawa thanks her and picks up the ale and puts it onto the tray, steeling himself before walking, quite regally, over to the prince and his aides.

“Your ale,” he says, placing the first one down in front of Iwaizumi, letting his fingers linger on the cup longer than needed before handing the other two off.

Iwaizumi says, “thank you,” before he takes a sip, placing the mug back down, “now about this patron that was kicked out,”

“Yes,” Oikawa says with a smile, “slender, tall, red hair, lots of clothing, homeless, am I correct?”

“Yes, he was the man who was kicked out,” Iwaizumi confirms.

Oikawa nods patiently, “what would you like to know?”

“Why he was kicked out,” he answers bluntly.

Oikawa chuckled, “he had no money, he was loitering,” he sighs, “you’re Prince Iwaizumi, correct?” Iwaizumi nods, “I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with you, perhaps you could explain to me, in detail, about what you need from this man?” Oikawa asks, a grin on his face and a hand on his hip.

“I need nothing from him, he asked me for his help.”

“Oh?”

Iwaizumi turns more to face Oikawa and the server takes this as interest, “He asked for scraps and you kicked him out, you could at least be kind enough to give him leftovers,” Iwaizumi says, a little miffed.

Oikawa understands where this was going now, Iwaizumi most likely wanted to help out the penniless man that was kicked out. How? He wasn’t sure, but he was sure that Iwaizumi was misunderstanding something about how businesses ran.

“Prince Iwaizumi,” Oikawa smiles gently, “I’m sure you have so far realized that this is a business. I’m not saying that the man should have been kicked out in the manner he was, however he comes in at least four times a week asking for food, not to mention leftovers are given to the less well off staff.”

“And you don’t give him _any?_ ” Iwaizumi asks.

Oikawa politely shakes his head, “it’s not my decision, it’s my boss’ decision,” he explains, “but he’s not here, so maybe I can do something for you?” Oikawa asked provocatively.

The man who looked like a radish choked on the sip he was taking and had to wipe his mouth quickly with his sleeve. The other man looked equally as stunned, a wild blush covering his face. This was a common reaction Oikawa got when he hit on someone with retainers that thought their boss wouldn’t take the bait. They always took the bait, after all, Oikawa was too pretty to refuse.

“If you could prepare some food for that man, that would do,” Iwaizumi says without skipping a beat.

Oikawa is taken aback at first, but quickly resets himself and puts one hand on the table to lean closer, one slender finger held up, “No can do, Prince, if you feed him, he’ll depend on handouts from you when he sees you next.”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s my job to let the people depend on me,” Iwaizumi reasons.

“So you’ll come by every Friday with that pretty face of yours to make sure that man can be fed?” Oikawa asks, still as close as he was before, eyes fluttering seductively. He could see that Iwaizumi’s retainer’s eyes were practically popping out of their heads through his peripheral vision.

Iwaizumi held his chin in contemplation, “well, I can’t come every Friday…” he mumbled, taking no heed to the compliment paid to him.

“Tell you what,” Oikawa says with a grin, “You pay for all his meals now, and then he can eat here.”

“How much would that be?”

Oikawa leans his head closer and says quietly, “around thirty gold for the next three months.”

That was a lie, thirty gold would probably last about six months, but Oikawa didn’t see any harm in charging commission, this was a favour after all, and he could get fired for it. Besides, that would mean another visit from the handsome Prince Iwaizumi three months down the road, if not less.

Suddenly, Iwaizumi stands, causing Oikawa to rock back on his heels to get out of the way.

“Kindaichi, Hanamaki, we take our leave, I would rather find that man a job rather than set him with food for such a short amount of time,” he started loudly.

“Yes, Prince Iwaizumi,” they said in unison, standing up with amused looks on their faces.

With what Oikawa felt was a little too much haste, Prince Iwaizumi and his retainers, Kindaichi and Hanamaki, left the tavern. Oikawa stood stunned, eyes wide, for the better part of five minutes while he recounted the events that had just transpired before he felt a gentle nudge on his back. Oikawa turned around to see Yachi there, asking if he was okay.

Oikawa didn’t respond for a minute before he finally said, “I failed?” in a very confused manner.

“You… what?” Yachi asks.

Oikawa looked her in the eyes, “my techniques didn’t work…”

“O-on the Prince?” Oikawa nods and Yachi giggles. When Oikawa gives her a mystified look, she answers his non-verbal question, “I should have said so before, but Prince Iwaizumi, as kind and generous of a man as he is, is very dense.”

“Dense?” Oikawa asks, as if he didn’t know the meaning of the word.

Yachi nods, “either that or he’s not interested in romance, especially with men from what you’re telling me,” she sighs, “usually everyone falls for you though, you’re so pretty I thought maybe you’d be able to do it.”

Oikawa gritted his teeth, “oh he’ll fall for me alright.”

“Oikawa?” Yachi asked, concern lacing her voice.

“Are there any jobs at the castle?” he asked impatiently.

Yachi’s eyes widened, “you’re not seriously thing about—”

“I am.”

-~- 

After three days of hustling Lords, Ladies, and nobles alike, Oikawa had learned that Prince Iwaizumi was looking for a new personal servant. Iwaizumi’s last servant had gotten married recently and wanted to move out to the countryside to raise a family, to which Prince Iwaizumi had respectfully discharged him from his duties and gave him a large sum of money to help him get set up. Oikawa had already told his boss what he was going to be doing, and now, Oikawa stood at the gates to the castle, dressed in his best, as he waited for some official to be brought back by a guard.

If he were honest, Oikawa would have to say he hated castles; sure they were beautiful, but they were also prisons.

The guards that stood by his side checked him out and he smiled pleasantly at them. From behind the gate, a man, most likely a knight of higher standing, was walking with the guard the the other two had sent off earlier.

The knight held out his hand, “Hello, my name is Yahaba Shigeru, you’re here about the personal attendant position I’ve heard?”

Oikawa took his hand with a smile, “yes, my name is Oikawa Tooru,” he says, “you have a firm grip,” he compliments.  

Yahaba looks down at his hand after Oikawa releases it and blushes a little, “ah, thank you, Oikawa. If you don’t mind, why don’t we walk around the castle while I interview you? I’d like for you to start today if I decide to hire you.”

Oikawa nods and Yahaba leads them back towards the castle. The grounds are practically overflowing with different flowers and shrubbery that Oikawa hadn’t ever seen before, they were nice and gave off the faint smell of pollen and he was glad that he wasn’t allergic.

“So,” Yahaba speaks up, “have you ever been a personal servant before?”

Oikawa shakes his head, “no, however I did work at the Josai tavern in town for a little under a year.”

“What made you leave?”

Oikawa hums, “I decided I would enjoy this job better,” he lies.

Yahaba smiles at him, Oikawa decides that he’s doing a good job, “can you clean a horse? Working at a tavern, I assume most other duties you will be fine with, however horse grooming is essential.”

Oikawa nods, “my parents owned a stable when I was young,” he lies again, though it’s only a half lie this time.

“What do they do now?” Yahaba asks, and this time Oikawa realizes it’s out of simple curiosity.

“They sold the horses and are now retired, living in the countryside east most of the capital” another lie.

 Yahaba stops walking and grins at him, “well, as long as you can keep up with it, you’ve got the job. We can discuss payment tomorrow afternoon, but Prince Iwaizumi should be back soon and his horse desperately needs to be washed.”

Oikawa bows politely and rests a soft hand on Yahaba’s shoulder, causing the knight to go pink, “thank you,” he says, breathier than necessary, “I’ll be sure the Prince is well cared for.”   

 

              


	2. Chapter 2

Oikawa waits at the west gates for Iwaizumi to return with his horse from hunting. He had already caught the attention of several handmaids running around in the west yard doing odd chores, they all had stopped to fawn over him, and Oikawa did as he does, indulges them.

“So you’re the new personal attendant to Prince Iwaizumi?” one handmaid with a pink dress asks, twirling her long hair between the fingers on her left hand playfully.

Oikawa nods, “I’m very excited to start serving the Crowned Prince, it’s an honour,” he says, shooting the three handmaids in front of him a blinding grin.

The handmaid in blue fails from keeping a squeal out of her throat and the other two blush a brilliant sunset red.

“It must be nice to be served by you,” the handmaid in grey swoons, “the Prince must be equally honoured.”

Oikawa chuckles and the girls nearly pass out, “oh, he’s not aware I’m to be his new attendant,” he states before holding a finger up to his lips and shooting the girls a wink, “would you keep it a secret if you see him before I do?”

The girls nod vigorously, “we promise!” the girl in pink nearly shouts before covering her mouth in embarrassment.

“I’ll take your word for it,” he smiles, “now, don’t you all have chores to be doing?” he asks and the girls blush, “don’t worry,” Oikawa says with a laugh, “I’ll keep it a secret too, okay?”

“Okay!” they all squeak in unison before rushing back to their laundry baskets, taking them into the castle as they giggle amongst themselves. 

Oikawa stares after them as they leave, and then it’s only a few minutes before the west gates open and a brigade of five on horses enters through them.

On the first horse, a pure white stallion with mud around its ankles, sits Prince Iwaizumi, just as handsome as Oikawa remembers, who was adjusting the strap for his long sword. Behind him on brown and white piebald mares sat the two from the tavern, Kindaichi and Hanamaki holding all kinds of weaponry, though which was Kindaichi and which was Hanamaki, Oikawa had no idea. Behind them on brown shire horses was one man with middle parted black hair and a childish face, and another man with short, spikey black hair and thick eyebrows.

When Iwaizumi raises his head and sees Oikawa in his path, he raises an arm to halt his entourage.

“You’re the man from the tavern,” Prince Iwaizumi states bluntly, “do you have business in the castle?” he asks, hopping down from his mount and patting his horses neck gently before taking its reins.

Oikawa sends the prince a blinding smile, “yes, I’m your new personal attendant, I’ve been told to groom your horse, Prince Iwaizumi,” he says with a curt bow and a hand over his heart. If seductive flirting didn’t work, maybe immense loyalty would.

Iwaizumi looks at his with suspicion, and then, under his breath, he mutters, “I told Yahaba I didn’t need another attendant.”

“Pardon?” Oikawa asks, briefly fearing that he was about to be fired.

Iwaizumi hands Oikawa the reins roughly, a frown on his face and a crease in his brow, but still handsome. The other knights behind Iwaizumi trot past Oikawa on their horses, Kindaichi and Hanamaki trying not to laugh, and Oikawa knew why too, even if Iwaizumi didn’t and then chided them for it.

Oikawa took the stallion back to Prince Iwaizumi’s personal stable, to which Yahaba had show him earlier, in the south yard. Oikawa pulled himself and the horse into its stall after grabbing a bucket of water to wash off the mud. Before starting, Oikawa spent at least fifteen minutes simply petting the horse, if the horse didn’t get used to him first, there was no way he would be able to clean it.

As he was finishing up brushing the horse, the last step in his horse-cleaning endeavour, Yahaba stopped by.

“Oikawa,” he says, grabbing the mans attention, “are you almost done?”

Oikawa nods, “why, should I braid the mane too?” he asked jokingly.

Yahaba laughs, “I think Prince Iwaizumi would want to kill you if you did that.”

“Ah,” Oikawa interjects, “the Prince mentioned that he told you he had no need for another personal attendant.”

“Oh, that,” Yahaba sighs, “he wants to do everything on his own, but he simply doesn’t have the time for that.”

Oikawa hums in acknowledgement, “so, what did you need from me?” he asks, bringing the subject back.

“I wanted to show you to your quarters and explain your morning duties to you,” Yahaba explains.

“Sure, just let me finish up.”

-~- 

“— and this is your room,” he pauses, “oh, and just so you know, Prince Iwaizumi’s not a morning person,” Yahaba finishes as they stop in front of a tall wooden door.

Oikawa turns to Yahaba and thanks him for the job with a bow before he enters his room.

The room itself is slightly larger than his old room in the one story cobblestone house he had shared with Yachi. The room wasn’t dusty at all, most likely the work of handmaids cleaning the room in preparation while he had waited for the Prince to come back to the castle. By the window, which was covered with a burgundy curtain, was a double bed with brown and taupe sheets and a wooden frame. Next to the bed was a wooden side table with an iron caged gas lantern and matches. Next to the oak wardrobe to the left of the room was a desk with a quill, ink, and paper on it, as well as a vase of fresh cut daffodils.

Oikawa quickly undressed and redressed before going to bed, he had to be up early after all.

-~- 

Oikawa rose with the roosters in the morning, or that is, the roosters rose with him since he had gotten out of bed just before they started squawking up a clamour. Oikawa flung open the doors of his wardrobe and quickly dressed, purposefully choosing a shirt that was slightly loose, but hung just the right way to compliment his figure.

As he made his way down to the kitchen to grab Prince Iwaizumi’s breakfast, he flirted in passing with the handmaids and servants of the royal house, he had even made a few knights in his path blush, due to this he managed to nick some silver and copper coins off of them.

 _This is good_ , Oikawa thought to himself, _the more people like me, the less they will realize why I’m here_.

And why was he here? For the money of course, and not just his commission costs for working either. No, he wanted Prince Iwaizumi’s money; but first he needed to find a way to make the Prince fall for him to get it.

The kitchen staff handed Oikawa the Prince’s food with great care, reminding him to not forget to serve the tea, which was green tea with lemon today. Before he left, a younger kitchen maid had handed him a small roll with a shy, “for you,” before scampering away to the head chef’s aid. Oikawa put the roll into his pocket for later.

Oikawa gently pushed the large French doors to Iwaizumi’s room open and placed the tray of food down at the table. The Prince’s room was quite large, but there were less expensive trinkets lying around than Oikawa had expected. The walls were lined with tapestries that either had the house crest or stories woven onto them, most of which portrayed dragons. There were no golden fixtures lying about, in fact, the glitteriest thing in sight was a stand mirror beside the large mahogany desk that was covered in paperwork.

Removing the cover from tray, Oikawa watched the steam flow from Prince Iwaizumi’s breakfast and roll out into the room, trails of it caught by the sun peaking through the navy stained curtains. On the plate, there was oatmeal, eggs, bacon, sausages, fried vegetables, two rolls of bread, and some parsley as a garnish. Impressed, Oikawa poured some of the tea into the cup he was provided, putting the lemon slice into the drink gently as to not burn his fingers.

First, before waking the Prince, he had to pick out his clothes for the day. Though Oikawa was sure that was something Iwaizumi would have liked to do himself, it was still a part of his job. When he opened the wardrobe he noticed that Iwaizumi had many high quality garments, even jewelry that was shoved farther back into the closet; more than likely, the Prince only wore that jewelry when he had an important event to attend. First, Oikawa picked out a dark teal top, some dark brown slacks with a belt, and tall brown riding boots. Prince Iwaizumi seemed to be modest in dress, so Oikawa pulled out a beige over shirt and set it with the other things he had picked out.

Oikawa made his way over to the window at the Prince’s bedside and slowly opened them, watching Iwaizumi’s reaction as he did. Ever so slowly, the Prince cracked open one eye after another, quickly rubbing the sleep out of them with the heel of his hand as he groaned.

Oikawa blushes at the groan, but quickly fixes himself, “good morning, Prince Iwaizumi,” he says politely.

“Huh?” Iwaizumi replies gruffly, “who are you?”

“I’m your new personal servant, Oikawa Tooru, we met yesterday afternoon when you came back from hunting.”

“Oi… kawa?” he says vaguely, “oh…” he pauses, “great, now get out.”

Oikawa’s back straightens, “U-uh, beg pardon, your Highness?”

Iwaizumi fixes him a deadly glare over his covers, “get. Out.”

“Now, now, Prince Iwaizumi,” Oikawa says, trying to keep his nerves out of his voice, “if you don’t wake now, how will you get all that paperwork on your desk done?”

Iwaizumi hums, “later,” he concludes, rolling away from Oikawa.

Oikawa smiles at him, but not at all pleasantly, there was another reason he didn’t like royals, the entitled behaviour, not that he didn’t act that way too sometimes, “the food that the kitchen staff painstakingly prepared for you this morning will go to waste then, shall I tell them their cooking was no good?”

With a scowl, Iwaizumi rose from his fluffy, queen sized, bed, and shirtless no less. This was something Oikawa had expected, seeing the Prince shirtless that is, he however neglected to think of what he would do if Iwaizumi had tanned, rock hard, washboard abs, and extremely well toned arms. Oikawa turned his head pointedly away from his employer so that he wouldn’t stare, lest the heat in his cheeks continue to rise.

“I’ll eat the food,” Iwaizumi says hoarsely, “I can’t waste the staff’s kindness, after all.”

 _Ah,_ Oikawa thinks, _so that’s the type of man he is._

Perhaps this knowledge would help him out later too.

Oikawa shuffles over to Iwaizumi’s side, placing his hand on the table and the other on his hip, “I’ve prepared your clothes for the day, Prince Iwaizumi,” he smiles pleasantly.

Iwaizumi stops shovelling food into his mouth to look up at his attendant, “there’s no need for you to call me so formally,” he says, mouth full.

“Now, now, your Highness, eat or talk, not both,” he chides teasingly, “that aside, I’m just showing you the proper amount of loyalty.”

Iwaizumi grunts and swallows, “I get enough loyalty from the knights and handmaids, a little less would be nice.”

“Prince Iwaizumi, do you, perhaps, not like being referred to as the Prince?”

Iwaizumi shakes his head and practically swallows a breakfast sausage whole, “I’d prefer not to be,” he shrugs.

“You know, when you become King, no one will refer to you as simply “Iwaizumi” aside from in intimate spaces,” Oikawa leans a little closer, “would you like for our time together to become intimate?” he suggests.

“You are my personal attendant, so you have to help me bathe regardless, I cannot see a situation more intimate than that between you and I, Oikawa.”

Oikawa watches, stunned, as Iwaizumi turns back to continue shoveling food into his mouth until he has finished his meal, positively unperturbed by Oikawa’s flirting, and not only that, he had nearly shattered Oikawa’s chances with one off handed comment. Oikawa huffed and put his hands on his hips before removing the empty plates in front of the Prince and putting them back on the tray.

Oikawa watches, indulges himself in watching, really, the still shirtless Prince Iwaizumi stretch his arms over his head, muscles flexing in what Oikawa can only describe as a regal manner. Oikawa quickly turns his head and goes to pick up the Prince’s clothing before handing it to Iwaizumi’s accepting arms.

“Shall I dress you as well, Prince Iwaizumi?” Oikawa asks in a flirtatious manner.

Iwaizumi shakes his head with a disgruntled face, most likely at being referred to as a Prince, “I’m capable,” he states, turning his back to Oikawa and proceeding to dress.

Oikawa takes another look at Iwaizumi’s arms, and under his breath, he mutters, “oh, I’m sure you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Into the Town

“Oikawa!” Iwaizumi shouts.

Oikawa peaks his head out from the Princes wardrobe and looks at him with startled eyes, “I’m right here, Prince Iwaizumi, you don’t need to shout so loud.”

Iwaizumi makes his way over to his attendant, “Sorry,” he supplies, “are you done with that? I’d like to go into town today,” he pauses, “I thought I told you not to call on me so highly?”

“You did, but you look so cute when your frustrated,” Oikawa teases.

Iwaizumi groans, “once you’re done that come down to the North Gate,” he says, leaving Oikawa to his chores.

Oikawa had been serving Prince Iwaizumi for around two weeks now and they had become much closer, however Oikawa still referred to Iwaizumi as “Prince” much to his chagrin and many, many protests about the honorific. Oikawa thought he should probably make up a new nickname for his employer, one to tease him easier with, and he would think of one eventually. Despite being Iwaizumi’s aid for the past two week, Oikawa was absolutely no closer to breaking through the Prince’s dense walls or, more importantly, his wallet, a fact Oikawa was getting annoyed with pretty quickly.

Prince Iwaizumi did acknowledge his teasing; however, he was used to it now. Usually Iwaizumi groaned and let it slide, as he had today, or whacked Oikawa over the head. Often times Oikawa only got whacked when he was flirting with the handmaids instead of working, which was often since they cornered him nearly every time he left his room or the Princes room, provided he was alone.

Oikawa folds the last shirt and places it with the others before he goes to join Iwaizumi at the North Gate.

-~- 

Oikawa saw Iwaizumi waiting for him in the small rose garden by the North Gate, sitting on a marble bench. Curiously, Oikawa decided to sneak closer, he was very good with stealth after all, among other things. When he got closer, he realized that Iwaizumi was feeding birds, not an impressive feat in its own right, but what impressed Oikawa is that the birds were in the Princes hands, feeding right out of them. It was one thing to be good with animal, but to be good with birds, wild ones at that, was basically akin to being crowned king of the world.

Distracted by the sight of it, the sight of Iwaizumi looking so ethereal that was, Oikawa took a subconscious step back, stepping on a twig and breaking it with a loud _snap_. The birds flew away and Iwaizumi’s head snapped to where Oikawa was hiding in the bushes, still unable to be seen. The Prince drew his sword and slowly made his way over to where the sound had been heard.

“Who’s there?” he calls out.

Oikawa shot out from the bushes, perhaps a little too fast considering Iwaizumi, startled by the sudden movement, thrust his sword in Oikawa’s direction. Quickly, Oikawa dodged and Prince Iwaizumi stumbled, his sword embedding itself into the tree behind his servant. Oikawa held his hands up at his shoulders in surrender. After a moment, Iwaizumi realized it was Oikawa in front of him and sighed, pulling his sword out from the tree bark and putting it back into its sheath at his hip.

“You shouldn’t be sneaking around like that, I didn’t even know anyone was there,” Prince Iwaizumi says.

Oikawa laughs awkwardly, “I didn’t expect you to swing at me… your highness.”

“It’s habit,” Iwaizumi shrugs and looks at Oikawa more curiously, “however I’d like to know how you dodged that so quickly. Even some of the knights have trouble with dodging at that distance.”

“Ah…” Oikawa smiles, and he hopes it passes for a happy one, “I’m good at lots of things,” he states before changing his demeanor, “I can show you some later if you’d like?” he says suggestively.

Iwaizumi’s face twists into annoyance as he grabs Oikawa by the back of the neck and leads him out of the bushes, “lets go, I’ve waited long enough for you.”

-~- 

As they walked through town, Oikawa figured out that Iwaizumi had to be accompanied every time he left the castle because of his status and then Oikawa understood his impatience with how long he took to get to the North Gate. Oikawa also realized that Iwaizumi seemed to prefer his company rather than that of the Knights, probably because Oikawa seemed less duty bound than the Knights, who had been trained from birth to respect Iwaizumi’s position in the royal household.

Walking through town with Iwaizumi was pleasant, the two made small talk, or small and ignored attempts at _flirting_ in Oikawa’s case, whenever Iwaizumi hadn’t stopped to buy some bread for children or give the apples he brought to homeless people. Prince Iwaizumi was a very generous person, many people in the town, and likely the whole kingdom, respected him as such. Many children had whispered about wanting to grow up and serve Iwaizumi when they were older, their loyalty astounded Oikawa.

Oikawa wasn’t from Prince Iwaizumi’s kingdom, but rather from a kingdom far West called by Aoba. Aoba was a very large and well known kingdom, however anyone this far East wouldn’t know of it… well, maybe the royal family might, but then again maybe not.

The two of them ended up stopping by the Josai tavern for some food since Iwaizumi insisted that he should apologize to the girl, Yachi, who had been working when he intruded a few weeks ago, luckily it was the weekend.

Iwaizumi sat down in a booth while Oikawa sauntered up to the bar to grab their orders, as well as Yachi’s attention.

Oikawa knocks on the counter, “Hello,” he says when Yachi turns to face him.

Yachi’s face lights up when she sees him, eyes sparking, “Oikawa! You came back! We’ve been so busy here and the regulars you made are upset that—”

Oikawa cut her off, “Whoa there, Yachi, I’m actually here with Prince Iwaizumi, not here to get back to work.”

Yachi stiffens before shouting, “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, you’re right! How rude of me! I’ll never make a good wife, what if I need to live as a spinster because no one wants to marry me?! I’d be some old crone that all the kids will think is a witch because I’ll have too many cats!”

Oikawa stands there with his hands up, “Y-Yachi… it’s fine, really, just get me two large ales’ and a leg of mutton, we’ll be over there,” he says, pointing over at the booth where Iwaizumi was sitting.

Yachi nods vigorously and busies herself as Oikawa makes his way back to the table after leaving the money on the counter.

“Well?” Iwaizumi asks as Oikawa takes his seat with a sigh.

Oikawa leans his chin in his palm, “she’ll be over soon, I got you mutton and ale.”

“And for yourself?”

“Ale,” he replies.

“Just ale?” Iwaizumi asks, “no food?”

Oikawa shook his head, “I ate breakfast, finished it too, unlike some people,” he jeers at Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi pouts and Oikawa finds it cute, “I ate,” he says stubbornly.

Just as Oikawa is about to respond, Yachi begins to place Iwaizumi’s food and their drinks in front of them with her usual shaky hands.

Yachi grips her empty tray, bows, and nearly walks away before Iwaizumi calls out to her, “Ah, Miss, wait.”

Yachi startles and Oikawa can tell she represses herself from swinging back to face them in a wild fashion, “y-yes, Prince Iwaizumi?”

Iwaizumi smiles at her and Oikawa has to repress the blush it gives him, “I’d like to apologize for my intrusion a while back, as well as taking one of your servers away from you.”

“It’s-it’s no p-problem!” Yachi yells before covering her mouth, “about… about both things, it’s no problem…” she says quieter, clutching her tray a little tighter.

“That’s good, I’m glad… uh,” Iwaizumi pauses as if he wants to add her name.

“Yachi,” Oikawa provides.

“Yachi,” he smiles, “thank you, Miss. Yachi.”

“You-you’re welcome,” she blushes feverishly. Yachi is about to turn away again until she seems to remember something and turns back to face Oikawa this time, “Oh, Oikawa,” she starts, a little less nervous because she knows Oikawa better than the Prince, “someone came by looking for you.”

“A regular?” he asks. It wasn’t uncommon for regulars, especially the richer ones, to be asking for him.

Yachi shakes her head, “he wasn’t familiar to me, but he said he knew you.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he was looking for you… also that he was from Aoba, though I don’t know where that is…” she says apologetically.

“Aoba?” Iwaizumi asks, “the kingdom to the far West?” he clarifies, looking at Oikawa with a newfound interest, “you’re not a criminal are you?”

Oikawa laughs nervously, “no, no, nothing like that…” he lies because he _has_ stolen before, but that was after he left Aoba, “Yachi, what did he look like?”

“Rich!” she answers immediately, “he had this nice straight black hair and blue eyes, really tall too!”

Oikawa knows she answered with _rich_ first because of his own gold-digging tendencies, but Oikawa pushes it aside, hoping Prince Iwaizumi doesn’t notice, “did he say his name?”

Yachi frowns, “no… I told him you don’t work here, when he left he looked kinda upset, he knocked over another customer’s drink too when he went _bang_ on the counter,” she explains, acting out the mans hand slamming onto the table.

“Do you know who he is, Oikawa?” Iwaizumi asks.

Oikawa buries his head in his hands in embarrassment, “yes… I do. Yachi, please tell me you didn’t tell him where I work now?”

Oikawa look’s up just in time to see Yachi freeze and drop her tray. That’s when Oikawa knows he’s fucked.

“Huh?” Iwaizumi questions.

Oikawa rockets up from the bench and leans over to grab Yachi’s shoulders as she covers her face, “Yachi, you didn’t!”

“I’m sorry!” she shouts, “I felt so bad for him, he looked so distressed!” Yachi looks up at Oikawa with water in her eyes as she shakes, “Ah! I’m so sorry! I failed again didn’t I!? Usually you don’t mind, last time I sent away someone looking for you, you got mad! Please don’t be mad! I’m sorry!”

Oikawa freezes when a warm hand claps down onto his shoulder, “Oikawa, you’re scaring her!” Iwaizumi scolds.

Oikawa looks at the Prince and removes his hands from Yachi’s small frame, never taking his eyes off of Prince Iwaizumi’s.

Iwaizumi turns to Yachi, breaking Oikawa’s eye contact, “sorry, Miss Yachi, I’ll take care of it, please don’t mind us and go back to what you were doing,” he says with a smile, a smile that Oikawa can tell means his about to be interrogated or beaten, and he hopes it’s the latter.

Yachi nods quickly, picking up her tray and running back to the back room, probably to calm down, that’s what Oikawa thinks anyways, she has a lot anxiety after all.

Iwaizumi removes his hand from Oikawa’s shoulder and sits back down. When Oikawa hears the loud thump of Iwaizumi falling down onto the bench, he realizes he’s getting the former and _not_ the latter. They were in public, so Oikawa should have been expecting an interrogation instead of a beating. Prince Iwaizumi had a reputation to keep after all.

“Sit,” Iwaizumi commands, and Oikawa does, immediately, “well, is this something I should be worried about?”

“P… probably… not…” Oikawa answers uncertainly.

“Why is someone from Aoba looking for you?” he asks.

Oikawa laughs awkwardly, “honestly I’m surprised they took so long,” he answers vaguely, “why are you so worried?” he asks, changing the subject off of himself.

Iwaizumi grits his teeth, “it would look bad if my personal attendant were a criminal run out of his own kingdom, wouldn’t it?”

“It could be seen as an act of charity?”

Iwaizumi pinches the bridge of his nose, “so you _are_ a criminal?”

“No!” Oikawa shouts, a little offended, “I’m too pretty to be put into prison.”

“Do you want to test that?” Iwaizumi asks threateningly.

“No! I was only teasing!”

Iwaizumi sighs, “lets get back to the castle, it’s getting dark and I’d rather talk about this in a more private place,” Oikawa stiffens at that, “yeah, I noticed you trying to change the subject by the way.”

Oikawa groans and hits his head onto the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I've been super busy with school and I honestly didn't know how to start off this chapter, once I figured it out it was smooth sailing... sort of...  
> Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Nicknames

The silence during the walk back to the castle is deafening to Oikawa’s ears, if only broken when Iwaizumi would crouch down and offer something to a small child or help a mother adjust her groceries while he held her baby. All Oikawa could think of when Iwaizumi took the baby (or rather, _babies,_ as he had helped several mothers) into his hands was that trope about kissing babies. He hated royals with their goody-two-shoes acts while they had terrible personalities behind closed doors, even if Iwaizumi seemed different to Oikawa for some reason. Maybe because he knew Iwaizumi better, maybe because anytime Iwaizumi would smile, specifically directed at him, his heart would skip and his breath would get short. Not that it meant anything, Oikawa reasons, it was just that Iwaizumi was (regrettably?) very attractive and any sane person would have same reaction as he did.

It took around an hour to get back to the North Gate with all the stops Iwaizumi kept making, Oikawa assumes that just because he doesn’t want to be at the castle for whatever reason, it’s only around four after all, even if the sun was starting to set earlier with winter over the horizon. As soon as the gates shut and the guards left Oikawa and the Prince alone, Iwaizumi turned and walk off, gesturing for Oikawa to follow.

Oikawa realizes that Iwaizumi is bringing them to the armory, probably to punish Oikawa for earlier by making him clean all the shields and maces or something ridiculous like that. Suddenly and without warning, Iwaizumi tosses a long sword, hilt first, towards Oikawa who, despite his surprise, catches it with ease, thankful that Prince Iwaizumi threw it hilt first.

“Something’s been bothering me,” Iwaizumi states, hands on his hips, “earlier today you dodged my attack, so I’d like to have a match.”

Oikawa laughs, “that’s hardly necessary, you’ll probably wipe the floor with me, Prince Iwaizumi,” he pauses and looks at the sword, “don’t you use wooden swords for practice?”

Iwaizumi shakes his head, “yes,” he states, “however I thought this would be better, any idiot can use a wooden sword, with that,” he points to the glittering long sword in Oikawa’s hands, “I can tell if your dodge was a fluke or not.”

“Oh? And are you saying I’m not an idiot then?” Oikawa teases.

Iwaizumi grins, “you’re not _any_ _idiot_ , you’re my personal servant, so that makes you my Idiot.”

Oikawa can’t help the strong thump in his heart from happening despite having been called an idiot, and he hopes, if briefly, that his feelings towards being called _Iwaizumi’s_ wasn’t showing on his face in the colour of ripe tomatoes. _Any sane person would react the same_ Oikawa reminds himself, _the only reason the knights don’t is because they’re used to it,_ he reasons.

“Don’t I need armor?” Oikawa asks, brushing his pounding heart aside in hopes of postponing the match and distracting Iwaizumi from his more than likely red face, “you at least have minimal armor with your everyday wear.”

“There’s a breastplate behind you, that should suffice, the match will be no contact, at least, no contact from blade to body.”

Oikawa gasps dramatically, “Prince Iwaizumi!” he covers his chest, “just what are you thinking!?”  

“Don’t be an idiot!” Iwaizumi states, giving Oikawa a firm smack upside the head.

“I’m not, I’m your idiot,” Oikawa laughs even though his heart squeezes as he says it.

Iwaizumi grumbles something that Oikawa thinks sounds like a regret before straightening and gesturing out of the armory, “I’ll wait out there.”

-~- 

When Oikawa joins Iwaizumi, breastplate on and sword strapped to his waist band with no sheath, which is dangerous, Oikawa knows, but he’s used to holding swords and a sheath would just get in the way during a duel. The Prince doesn’t skip a beat before stalking off to the practice area near the armory, which is far more secluded than the other practice areas around the castle. Oikawa even dares to say this secluded spot is pretty, especially in the setting light of the afternoon, sun skimming atop the rose bushes nearby and casting long, elegant shadows. Briefly, Oikawa thinks this spot would be a wonderful place to rob Iwaizumi, but then he would probably be hunted down by Iwaizumi, not to mention the knights too, and he didn’t really want that, he wanted Iwaizumi to _give_ him his money, willingly and of his own volition.

Iwaizumi stops, turns, and holds up his sword, “you swing first,” he taunts.

Oikawa does as he’s told, raising his sword from his belt in his right hand and rushing Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi seems surprised by Oikawa’s speed, but manages to block his blow nonetheless, pushing Oikawa back a pace. Oikawa blinks, Iwaizumi was stronger than he had thought, but it still didn’t deter the competitive spirit that had been stirred in him, he was more agile than the Prince anyways.

Iwaizumi swung upwards as Oikawa dodged effortlessly, he would have preferred the swing to be a little farther from his face however.

“I knew it wasn’t a fluke!” Iwaizumi shouts, taking another swing, this time lower as he attempts to grab Oikawa’s arm as well.

Oikawa hops over the momentum of the blade as if he were playing jump rope, deflecting Iwaizumi’s arm with his free hand, “I did tell you I was good at many things,” he states, thrusting his sword towards Prince Iwaizumi’s breastplate.

“Where,” Iwaizumi deflects Oikawa’s blade, “did you learn? Were you a Knight in Aoba?” he asks, swinging for Oikawa’s left arm.

Oikawa blocks the blade with his own and pushes it away as he steps back into a better stance and laughs, “as if.”

“Why is a Nobleman from Aoba looking for you then?” he asks, attempting to swing again, this time towards Oikawa’s right shoulder.

Oikawa ducks quickly, moving his blade to let Iwaizumi’s skid against it with a loud metal twang, “trust me,” he says, aiming his sword for Iwaizumi’s abdomen, “he’s worse than a _Nobleman_ ,” Oikawa spits out as Iwaizumi deflects his sword. Later, he’ll consider this confession reckless, but Oikawa was too ensnared by their duel he can’t bring himself to care.

“I didn’t ask before,” Iwaizumi starts, swinging again, “but do you not like people with high status?”

Oikawa deflects the swing and rushes forward to grab Iwaizumi’s shoulder with his free hand, the other farther behind him, holding his sword at a far enough distance to have the tip reach _just_ at the base of Iwaizumi’s neck, glaring darkly and breathing heavily, “you have no idea.”  

-~- 

Oikawa sat in the armory cleaning swords and freaking out. He nearly, not nearly, he revealed just how much he hated nobles, by extension, royals, and by further extension, Prince Iwaizumi. However close he had been to getting into Iwaizumi’s _incredibly_ deep pockets, Oikawa had just bolted full tilt in the opposite direction by pure Freudian slip, a slip of the tongue, and by putting a _fucking sword_ to Prince Iwaizumi’s very influential throat while he insulted his status and basically told Iwaizumi he hated him. Oikawa wanted to cry.

Surprisingly, Iwaizumi didn’t seem to care about any of that after Oikawa had lowered the sword quickly and apologized for his words and actions. The Prince just looked at Oikawa suspiciously before handing Oikawa his sword with a nod, saying, “you won, go polish the swords,” before walking to what Oikawa assumed was his chambers.

Oikawa sighs and looked to his left, there were only two more swords left to polish aside from the one in his hands. Oikawa reasons that cleaning the swords isn’t a punishment as he needed to do it within the week regardless of his current circumstances. What he was worried about was how long it would take Kageyama, the Nobleman who had been looking for him, to come by the main castle and demand to see Oikawa in front of the King and Prince Iwaizumi. Given what Oikawa knew about Kageyama, which was a lot as they grew up together, he assumes it’ll take no less than two days for Kageyama to come pounding on the castle gates, if not much sooner. Kageyama was always persistent, Oikawa hated that about him. Oikawa hated a lot about him.

He had only been about sixteen or seventeen when he left Aoba, so now, at age twenty about three or four years later, Oikawa had honestly thought Kageyama and the others would give up their dumb farce of chasing him down semi-annually. Oikawa _liked_ it in this kingdom, in Ryūhei, with Iwaizumi, even if he was a servant to a Prince denser than bricks, even if that was only until he had enough money to go farther East, maybe make it to Taishin or beyond that, somewhere far from the long arms of Aoba.

Oikawa put down the last sword into the rack having finished his word. He carefully slid Iwaizumi’s personal sword, branded with the house crest on it’s hilt, back into it’s sheath before he makes his way to the Prince’s chambers.   

As Oikawa approaches the room, he heard Iwaizumi talking to someone who sounded like Yahaba. He stops just outside the room, close enough to hear the conversation, but too far to see the two of them.

“— and he’s been waiting by the South Gates for hours,” Yahaba finishes, sounding exasperated.

Oikawa hears Iwaizumi stop moving, “did you get his name?”

“Kageyama Tobio, Prince Iwaizumi.”

“And what exactly did he say?”

There’s a pause and then Yahaba speaks, “well at first he asked for the King, and then you personally, the guards are getting annoyed to say the least, especially Kindaichi, who’s on shift today.”

Oikawa snickers and apparently he’s heard because nearly immediately Iwaizumi thunders to the door and thrusts it open.

“Oikawa!” he shouts, “you’re coming with me!”

“Prince Iwaizumi, might I suggest—” Yahaba tries, but Iwaizumi shushes him.

“I want to know what the deal is with this Kageyama person from Aoba,” he says, looking pointedly at Oikawa.

Oikawa stiffens, clutching the sword in his hands tighter, “uh… well, we are acquainted…”

Iwaizumi taps his foot, “acquainted like you’re acquainted with most of the nobles that visit your old tavern?” Oikawa opens his mouth to protest, but Iwaizumi catches him, “I know you flirt with them to get them to become regulars.”

“It’s a business tactic!” Oikawa defends, because it’s mostly true.

“So it is like that?”

Yahaba coughs awkwardly, “I’ll be going to check on Kyoutani with the hounds,” he says quickly, bowing to Iwaizumi before walking as fast as he can down the hall and out of sight.  

“Well?” Iwaizumi prompts, looking away from where Yahaba was and staring intensely back ay Oikawa; Oikawa feels his insides burn, he was hoping Yahaba’s interruption would have made him drop the question but apparently not, “is he?”

“Why would you care?” Oikawa deflects, “are you jealous?” he teases.

Iwaizumi frowns, “I care because he’s distracting the guards.”

“But you didn’t say you _weren’t_ jealous, Prince Iwaizumi.”

Iwaizumi groans and pinches the bridge of his nose, “I’m not… and I thought I told you to drop the _Prince_ title.”

“I’m just calling you what you are,” Oikawa grumbles, mostly to himself.

Iwaizumi shakes his head, “well, I don’t want to be called _Prince_ , call me by something else.”

Oikawa gives a mock salute and a curt nod, “I’ll think of something,” he says, pleased that the topic of conversation has shifted away from Kageyama.

“Just… Just Iwaizumi is fine.”

“Eh? But that’s so boring!” Oikawa complains, but Iwaizumi just shrugs it off, “I’ll think of something better! Like Iwa-darling, or Iwa-my-desert-flower, which do you prefer?”

“Neither.”

“Mean!”

“Then just Iwa is fine,” Iwaizumi says, though it’s more like a grumble. After a slight pause of awkward silence, Iwaizumi startles, “you!” he hisses.

“Me?!”

“You changed the subject!”

Oikawa holds his hands up in defence, “no, no, that was _you_ , Iwa-dear,” he grins.

“It- no, _Iwa_ , and that- it doesn’t matter! Now come on, we’re going to the South Gate to see your _friend_ from Aoba.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I'm a slow writer, sorry :/ hopefully being out of school will help, though I'm getting a job soon (hopefully) so I don't really know. Anyhow I hope you like the update!


	5. A What?

Though his exterior seemed very calm, even a bit joyful, Oikawa was freaking out. He had failed to avoid Kageyama, and Oikawa wanted to blame himself for that. If he hadn’t gotten a job working for Prince Iwaizumi, or rather, if he had just robbed Iwaizumi while he had the chance and made a run for it, he likely wouldn’t be in this mess. Sure, he’d be a criminal, but seeing Kageyama was far worse to him. Why hadn’t he done that? Oh right, because Iwaizumi was so dense it was like the universe was practically begging Oikawa to knock him down a peg and make the Prince fall for him. Oikawa was sure that he had, regretfully, only gotten more attached to Iwaizumi in doing that. So much so that he didn’t want to leave Ryūhei.

Currently, Iwaizumi was practically dragging Oikawa by the collar towards the South Gate. And by practically, Oikawa meant _actually_. He was literally pulling the stitching of his tunic loose.

“Iwa! Iwa! I can walk!” Oikawa protests.

Iwaizumi stops but doesn’t let go of Oikawa’s tunic, “you won’t run?”

“You would catch me, wouldn’t you?”

“Right,” Iwaizumi replies.

Oikawa straightens himself, straightening his clothes, “you had such a tight grip I was starting to think you were into that,” Oikawa teases, hoping that the longer it takes them to get to the South Gate (which they were already dangerously close to), the less likely Kageyama would be there still.

Iwaizumi ignores his teasing and whacks Oikawa on the arm, telling him to, “move it already.”

Unfortunately, luck was no lady tonight, and as they rounded the corner Oikawa saw Kageyama, taller than he was when he had seen him the last time and _still_ just as painfully awkward looking.

Kageyama looks up and sees him there, “Oikawa!” he practically yells, trying to move past the guard, who is a very annoyed looking Kindaichi.

Oikawa supresses his frown and waves, pulling back a smile that may have been a little too tight in an attempt to seem as joyful as he would have preferred, “Tobio! Nice to see you again,” he said.

Kageyama immediately straightens himself, “Oikawa, please come with me.”

Oikawa hums, “hmmm, no, thanks though,” he says, turning away to try and escape before Iwaizumi catches him.

Iwaizumi turns Oikawa back around and holds him there, Oikawa looks pointedly away from Kageyama, nose high in the air, “Kageyama Tobio, was it?” he asks. Kageyama nods, “may I ask your business with my personal attendant?”

“Personal attendant?” Kageyama mutters, but quickly moves on to answer the question, “I’ve come to bring Oikawa back to Aoba,” he explains.

“Well I’m not going!” Oikawa shouts, immediately pulling at his lower eyelid and sticking his tongue out, “stupid! Stupid!” he mocks childishly.

Iwaizumi grips Oikawa’s shoulders more firmly, “could you act a little more mature?” he asks, the glint in his eye tells Oikawa its more of a threat than a request. Iwaizumi turns his head back to face Kageyama, “did he break the law?”

Oikawa groans, “I told you I never broke the law!”

“No, I’m bringing him home,” Kageyama explains and Oikawa wants to slap himself.

“Home?” Kageyama nods, “well… Kindaichi,” Iwaizumi says, “let Kageyama in and put him in the spare room down the hall from mine, it’s getting late and I doubt he has a place to stay.”

“It’s alright, Prince Iwai—”

Iwaizumi smiles, “please, I insist,” he says, gripping Oikawa a little tighter.

Oikawa briefly thinks that it’s because he doesn’t want to let him go, that’s what he _hopes_ at least. Most likely it was to keep Oikawa in place, unable to run, if anything.

“Then, thank you…”

-~- 

Oikawa sat in his room later that evening. He had finished all his chores, narrowly escaped an interrogation by Iwaizumi. He had also escaped another duel, also curtesy of Iwaizumi (he had wanted a rematch). Oikawa had over heard Kindaichi and a few other guards or knights chatting outside his room. Who would blame him for eavesdropping anyways? Certainly no one so long as he didn’t get caught. Kindaichi and Kunimi (who was close with Kindaichi and also designated to help out Kageyama) had been discussing their distaste for Kageyama and Oikawa couldn’t help but be pleased.

For the past few years he had been avoiding (narrowly, but still) Kageyama, and just his luck that he would be stuck between a rock and a hard place when he finally caught up. On one hand, he wanted to stay, on the other, he wanted to run. Sure, it was cowardly, something Oikawa didn’t consider himself to be, but he had something he wanted to do and Kageyama just _kept getting in the way_. All those obstacles made Oikawa very, very good at many things. Those were things like slight of hand, pick pocketing, lying, persuasion, hiding, stealth, lots of things he certainly hadn’t learned in Aoba.

Currently, Oikawa was better at getting what he wanted than he had ever been before. That’s why it was so frustrating when Iwaizumi was so dense. He had been working for Iwaizumi for what? Two weeks? It felt to Oikawa like it had been months with how much time he spent with Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi dragged him everywhere. Mostly (and Oikawa was sure of this fact) it was because having Oikawa, in his less flashy clothes, was better than having several knights around. When Oikawa thinks about it, he’s never really seen anyone of noble status in public unaccompanied. Sure, there was Kageyama, but he was so willfully stupid he may just as well be considered as a commoner.

As luck would have it, Kageyama was _not_ given a tour, which meant he wouldn’t find Oikawa’s room. Oikawa had a vague idea of how tomorrows day would go. He would do his morning chores, wake up Iwaizumi and give him breakfast, do his daily chores, and then he would be dragged by the ankles towards Kageyama. The usual schedule. Except for the fact that once Kageyama caught sight of him, Oikawa would be stuck trying to avoid him. With the handmaids he was used to that, they knew when to leave him alone, they had work too after all. But Kageyama… he didn’t know where the line was.

-~- 

The next morning after he had his own breakfast, Oikawa made his way to Iwaizumi’s room to bring him his food. Luckily Kageyama had not appeared. Kageyama was a heavy sleeper, so he likely wouldn’t be up for another hour or two.

“Iwa!” Oikawa calls out with excessive enthusiasm, “I brought you breakfast!”

A groan sounded from the large bed by the window, meaning Iwaizumi was both awake and _definitely_ not ready to be awake. Oikawa had gotten used to Iwaizumi’s cranky, early morning moods, enough to nearly know how to deal with them.

“Don’t be like that, I had the staff give you extra meat today,” Oikawa says suggestively.

The bed creaks and he sees Iwaizumi rise slowly, pressing the heel of his palm into his eyes to rub them open. As usual (and it always made Oikawa’s heart rate rise to an unfair level) he was shirtless. Oikawa thought that Iwaizumi looked _very_ nice in the morning light, especially when shirtless. It was a sight he got to see often and he was very happy about that.

“What meat?” Iwaizumi croaks.

Oikawa brings the tray over to the bed. He was trying to be extra nice so that maybe Iwaizumi would think that the whole thing with Kageyama was a dream. He placed the tray on Iwaizumi’s lap and lifted the silver cover, “bacon and sausages,” he says.

Iwaizumi grunts his thanks and begins to eat as Oikawa makes his way over to the dresser to prepare Iwaizumi’s clothes. He spotted some stray coins on the dresser, but after a brief moment of hesitation, he decides not to take them. He didn’t want Iwaizumi kicking him out and, by extension, leaving him to run from Kageyama with less funds than he had planned.

He had only planned on working for Iwaizumi until he had either fallen for him, given him money, or had been paid enough to go to the next kingdom over. _Farther East_. That was all he wanted to do before, but that changed drastically with getting to know Prince Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi was a far better person than Oikawa could ever hope to be. He was forgiving, Oikawa was petty, he was kind, Oikawa was crass, he was loyal, Oikawa ran from Kageyama anytime he could, he was mature, Oikawa was childish. All Oikawa wanted to do before was build a great kingdom just so he could shove it in Kageyama stupid face and say “ _I did this, I did all this and you could never hope to do the same._ ”

It was all a cause of Oikawa’s own pride. Now though, now he wanted to stay by Iwaizumi’s side, something that conflicted greatly with what he wanted. Oikawa wanted to lead a kingdom and Iwaizumi had that for him from birth, something Oikawa didn’t have the chance to do from his own birth.

“Oikawa?” Iwaizumi calls, confusion lacing his voice, or maybe it was concern, “you’re not sick or anything right?”

Oikawa jolts and turns quickly, “I’m fine!” he says in a pitch higher than normal, “I was just conflicted over the red or the teal shirt,” he says, hastily grabbing two shirts and holding them up.

“That’s purple and blue…” he says, “Oikawa are you colour blind?”

“Absolutely not!” he protests, “in the lighting here it looked different!”

“Sure it did…” Iwaizumi says sceptically.

“It _did_ ,” Oikawa insists.

Iwaizumi gets out of bed and sets his tray on the bedside table, placing the silver cover back on top of it. It took a lot of Oikawa’s will power not to stare at Iwaizumi’s chest, but he managed it. He was supposed to make Iwaizumi fall for _him_ , not the other way around.

Iwaizumi walked over to the wardrobe, “the colours still look purple and blue,” he says with a sigh, “are you done?” he asks.

Oikawa nods and hands him the purple shirt along with some dark beige pants and a belt. After Iwaizumi took the clothes and began to dress, Oikawa placed tall, dark brown boots by Iwaizumi’s feet. That was their routine after all. Oikawa loved how domestic it felt.

After he put his boots on, Iwaizumi stood up straight and Oikawa realized that Iwaizumi was shorter than him, maybe only by a little, but it made him strangely happy.

“Oi,” Iwaizumi snaps, “have you been listening?”

 _Listening? Oh!_ Oikawa thinks, “Yes, of course!” he lies.

Iwaizumi crosses his arms, “what did I just say?”

“Something about my vision?” he says, taking a shot in the dark.

“See, I knew you weren’t listening!”

Oikawa scoffs, “I was just admiring how good you look in those clothes,” he says suavely, leaning closer.

Iwaizumi pushes Oikawa’s face back with his whole hand, “I told you we should go meet Kageyama,” he explains, removing his hand.

“Eh? But I wanted to spend the day with you!” He cries melodramatically.

Iwaizumi cracks his knuckles and grips Oikawa’s sleeve, “oh trust me, you will,” Oikawa opens his mouth to say something, “and Kageyama will be in attendance, all day. I’ve asked Yahaba to assign your chores to the handmaids,” he says with a menacing smile.

-~- 

As soon as Iwaizumi knocks on Kageyama’s door, Oikawa turns and tries to casually walk away only to have Iwaizumi catch him by the collar. After pulling Oikawa back in place, Iwaizumi held him there.

The door creaked open to reveal Kageyama in similar clothes to that of yesterday, minus the sword, “Prince Iwaizumi,” he notes before he spots Oikawa, and surely, when he turns his head, “Oikawa!” he shouts.

Iwaizumi releases Oikawa’s shirt and holds up his hand, “now, now, we can go talk outside, a doorframe is hardly the place to hold a conversation.”

“I don’t see the issue,” Oikawa mutters, only to be pinched by Iwaizumi, “hey!” he protests.

“Don’t be rude,” he threatens under his breath, “then, let’s go to the South garden.”

Kageyama nods, “lets,” he says, though he doesn’t take his eyes of Oikawa.

 _Persistent,_ Oikawa thinks.   

-~- 

“So,” Iwaizumi says, breaking the painful silence in the garden, “Kageyama,” he addresses, “why have you come all the way from Aoba?”

Kageyama looks confused, but he points at Oikawa none the less, “to bring Oikawa back to Aoba?”

Iwaizumi laughs awkwardly, and conveniently misses Oikawa stick his tongue out at Kageyama, “I meant why would you come all this way for him? He’s a terrible servant.”

“Rude, Iwa! I’m wonderful!”

“Right, whatever,” he responds.

Kageyama blinks, “servant?” he asks.

Iwaizumi nods, “was he your old servant?”

“No?” Kageyama says and Oikawa notices just how increasingly confused he was getting, eyes flicking between Oikawa and Iwaizumi with curiosity.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Oikawa says, trying to throw the flow of conversation off its tracks, “we should all live in the present, Kageyama you should just go back to Aoba!” he declares.

“This is the present dumbass, so it does matter,” Iwaizumi states, “Kageyama, may I ask why your relation ship to Oikawa is?”

“He’s my cousin,” he says, like it’s obvious.

“Oikawa… you didn’t tell me that your cousin was a duke,” he states with a tight smile and Oikawa can see the vain in his neck popping.

“Ah,” Kageyama voices, grabbing Iwaizumi’s attention again.

Oikawa knows what he’s going to say and he wants to run, to change the topic, to pull Iwaizumi closer to him in a hug, or kiss him, something that would fluster them both, but before he can, Kageyama opens his big, dumb mouth.

“I’m not a duke, I’m the Crown Prince of Aoba.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gee I'm real sorry for the delay on this chapter. If I'm honest I've been constantly picking at it because I wasn't really sure how I wanted it to play out. But I'm happy with the way it did. I like it.  
> I hope you all liked it too.  
> Thanks for reading!


	6. A Friend

Iwaizumi stares wide eyed at Kageyama, _Prince_ _Kageyama_ to be precise. He turns slowly to look at Oikawa, and Oikawa wants to fall into the ground. An earthquake sounded lovely to him right now.

Unfortunately, instead of the literal earthquake Oikawa is hoping for, Iwaizumi hits him with one that rocks his already unsteady heart beat, “so you’re the duke.” He says, pointing a finger.

“No,” Oikawa says, trying to seem confident as he crosses his arms and pointedly looks away, “not anymore I’m not.”

“Yes you are,” Kageyama interjects.

Oikawa swings back, leaning over Iwaizumi to get into Kageyama’s face, “why don’t you _shut it,_ Tobio,” he hisses and it makes Kageyama flinch.

Iwaizumi pushes Oikawa back down onto the bench as he clears his throat, “Prince Kageyama, is Oikawa really the duke of your country?”

Oikawa opens his mouth and Iwaizumi must sense it because even though he’s not looking when Oikawa does this, he immediately shoots a glare at him, making Oikawa snap his mouth shut.

Kageyama nods, “before I was born and became the heir apparent, he was the heir presumptive.”

Iwaizumi nods to himself and the three of them sit in silence again. Kageyama looks like he wants to say something, but doesn’t want to interrupt Iwaizumi’s train of thought.

“Prince Kageyama,” Iwaizumi says, making both Kageyama and Oikawa jolt to attention, “would you mind if I spoke to Oikawa alone? You can do whatever you’d like, I’ll call for you when we’re done?”

Kageyama stands up stiffly, “ah, sure, I mean, yes, yes of course, Prince Iwaizumi,” he says with a curt bow before walking away awkwardly, no clue where he was heading.

Oikawa watched him go until he was out of sight, and only then did he breathe out a sigh of relief, a breath he didn’t know he was holding. This was definitely not the worst case scenario, but it was up there. Why couldn’t Kageyama just leave him alone? He was like that when Oikawa was still in Aoba too, always following him around and asking him for things as if he hadn’t taken enough from Oikawa already by simply being born. It was a wonder that Oikawa hadn’t clocked him yet… Though, he had come close a few times. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Kageyama’s birth had taken away his right to the throne, it was also unfortunately evident that Kageyama was a born natural at what took Oikawa _years_ to master, even if Kageyama was stupid. It was like some sick cosmic joke.

Royals shouldn’t have multiple kids, Oikawa thought. That was why so many of his ancestors had killed their family members, no doubt about that. Everything was about power. Money and Power. Oikawa knew that, that’s why he wanted to make his own kingdom. One unbound by greed, even if Oikawa was greedy and selfish himself at the present time. Besides, he needed to be that way if that was what he wanted from his life.

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi says softly.

Oikawa looks at Iwaizumi, but quickly looks away and down to his feet, “you’re going to tell me to go back to Aoba aren’t you?” he says bitterly.

Iwaizumi sighs and scratches his head, “Well… it’s better than being a criminal…”

“Iwa, that doesn’t lighten the mood…” Oikawa says quietly. He knows Iwaizumi is only trying to make him feel better, but he didn’t want that right now.

“Right, sorry,” he apologizes, “but why don’t you want to go back? Surely they need you.”

“Pfft,” Oikawa snorts, “they have Tobio, they’re fine.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“You’re so perceptive, Iwa. I haven’t been able to trick you once yet,” Oikawa laments.

“Well—”

Oikawa looks at Iwaizumi, “you’re perceptive, but you don’t get why I don’t want to go back.”

“Obviously!” Iwaizumi exclaims, “you haven’t told me why!”

“You’re your country’s Crowned Prince, I _can’t_ be the Crowned Prince in Aoba, I can’t even be a _Prince_.”

“But you’re the heir presumptive, and the duke! If Kageyama dies you need to take over!” Iwaizumi states.

“I haven’t held the title of _heir presumptive_ since Tobio’s little sister was born,” Oikawa explains, getting increasingly louder in volume, “I can’t rule Aoba, I’m not sure I even want to rule Aoba! I want to rule something better, do _better!”_ he shouts, looking Iwaizumi dead in the eyes, “you wouldn’t—”

“If you want that, why are you working for me?” Iwaizumi says with a growl, “and who said I ever _wanted_ to be the Crown Prince in the first place, huh?”

“Well why wouldn’t you want it?” Oikawa asks, dumbfounded.

Iwaizumi runs a hand through his hair in frustration, “my older sister… she was born first, just because I’m male doesn’t mean I should get to be the heir apparent or be the Crowned Prince.”

“And you ask me why I’m working for you,” Oikawa says.

“Yeah, I’m asking! With the money of a duke it would be easier to start your own kingdom right? So why aren’t you there? Why aren’t you in Aoba right now?!”

Oikawa feels small compared to Iwaizumi’s commanding voice, but still, he explains, “because I wanted to build something without having half of it handed to me.”

Those are the words that make Iwaizumi stop, casting his eyes over Oikawa’s face in a sympathetic fashion. Oikawa twiddles his thumbs, he’s not sure what Iwaizumi is thinking, he’s not even sure he wants to know either. For all he knew, Iwaizumi was just going to tell him to go back to Aoba. That would make sense after all, especially after Iwaizumi witnessed just how far Kageyama, the Crowned Prince, had come just to get him. However, to Oikawa that just drove home the fact whatever Oikawa had, Kageyama had in droves. Work ethic? Sure Oikawa had that, but so did Kageyama; the only difference was that Kageyama had the _talents_ to advance that Oikawa didn’t.

Oikawa was sure that he could beat Kageyama at most things, but if he gave it a few years, that may not hold true anymore.

To his surprise, Iwaizumi does not tell Oikawa to go back to Aoba, instead he asks, “is that what you want? To rule that way?”

“I need to earn it,” Oikawa says, “that way I can prove that I can do better than Tobio.”

“So why earn it here? Surrounded by nobility that had their status handed to them.”

Oikawa doesn’t want to tell him that he had initially planned on stealing from Iwaizumi and running away. Rather, he had planned to earn generous tips for a while and then say he was retiring, earning a nice donation from Iwaizumi in the process. Sure, money was part of why he was still here with Iwaizumi, but that had changed. It wasn’t _just_ about money anymore. Somewhere, and Oikawa wasn’t sure how, he had fallen in love with Iwaizumi, and he wanted to stay for _him_ more than the money.

It was a little silly because Oikawa felt like he was betraying his dreams. If he stayed with Iwaizumi, he wouldn’t be able to rule his own kingdom. He may not even be able to rule at Iwaizumi’s side in this kingdom. He couldn’t stay if he wanted to rule, and he couldn’t leave if he wanted Iwaizumi. Selfish as Oikawa was, he knew that he could not have both.

Oikawa chooses (unable to express his thoughts) to change the subject, “why don’t you run? Why don’t you renounce your title if you don’t want to be King?”

“I have a duty to the people, and I can’t just abandon them,” Iwaizumi says simply. This was clearly something he has thought of many times.

“Doesn’t your sister have the same duty as you? It would be simple to pass her the baton,” Oikawa reasons.

“Have you ever met my sister?” he asks, and Oikawa shakes his head, “my parents keep her inside at all times, they think she’s ugly,” he says. It sounds even, but the white knuckles Oikawa sees from Iwaizumi’s grip on his knees says he feels otherwise, “too masculine,” he clarifies.

“Does she look like you?” Oikawa asks.

“I haven’t seen her in a while… but last time I saw her she did.”

“Then I’m sure she’s beautiful,” Oikawa says. This time, he’s not flirting or teasing. He says it with the firm belief that it’s true. He says it with every ounce of conviction he has.

For the first time ever, Oikawa sees Iwaizumi blush. It’s a little bit of a bizarre thing since when Oikawa blushes he turns bright red from his pale skin. When Iwaizumi blushes, it just adds depth to his tan. It makes him feel warm, like something Oikawa thinks is what _home_ should feel like. Not a house, not a place to sleep or eat, not a place you leave when the morning sun calls to start the work day. _Home_ : a place you never leave no matter how far you travel.

It’s something Oikawa has never had. Something he never thought he ever would have until he fulfilled his dreams.

“We’re supposed to be talking about _you_ , Oikawa, not me,” Iwaizumi says.

“R… right…”

“I understand why you don’t want to go back, and I won’t force you. I support your dream, Oikawa, I find it admirable even. But I can’t let you stay if you really haven’t renounced your title. Not to mention Prince Kageyama came here for you too,” Iwaizumi says empathetically. Iwaizumi seems to read something on Oikawa’s face because he immediately adds, “I’m not saying I want you to leave either.”

“I… haven’t renounced my title as duke,” Oikawa says honestly, hanging his head with a sigh.

Iwaizumi nods, “right now, what do you want?”

 _You_ , Oikawa thinks, but says, “to stay here,” instead.

“Then we can do something, right?”

Oikawa looks up at Iwaizumi, eyes hopeful, “like what?”

“I can go with you to Aoba, to renounce your title.”

Oikawa frowns, “can’t I just tell Tobio to do that for me?”

“No,” Iwaizumi says, chiding him, “just like me, you have a duty to your country too, so if you’re going to renounce your title you should tell the King yourself, unless you want to be labelled a coward officially.”

Oikawa grips the fabric of his pants. He knew that Iwaizumi would say that, but that knowledge still didn’t make him feel any better about the situation. Iwaizumi was right, of course. Telling Kageyama to do it for him was cowardly. It had been so long since he had been in Aoba that he had almost forgotten everyone there _but_ Kageyama. It was easy to forget about a memory; the hard part was forgetting how that memory made you feel.

There were so many things about Aoba that Oikawa had forgotten, but still remembered as _upsetting,_ or _angering_. Looking back, one person besides Kageyama angered him, not that he remembered much of what they did together. That person was Ushijima. The only two things Oikawa could remember about him were that, one, Ushijima made him mad _a lot_ , and two, Ushijima had a habit of accidentally being extremely insulting.

“Look, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi says, “I promise I will bring you back here, okay?”

Oikawa looks away from Iwaizumi’s all-too-honest eyes and back down at his grip on his pants, “I’ll go to Aoba.”

“I’m glad,” Iwaizumi says, and Oikawa can hear the relief in his voice.

“Are you sure you can leave?” he asks.

Iwaizumi nods and looks up to the sky, “Ryūhei could learn to depend on my sister a little more while I’m gone.”

Oikawa laughs, “you do realize it’s a two week trip to even get there, right?”

“Yeah, two weeks for an idiot who was probably travelling on foot,” Iwaizumi teases.

Oikawa rolls his eyes, “I didn’t walk _all_ the way, there is this thing called hitch hiking, you know!”

Both boys look at each other, dumb smiles spread across their faces before they both spilt into loud, boisterous laughter.

 _This_ , Oikawa thinks, _this is what I want_.

When Oikawa thinks about it, when he thinks back to his time in Aoba, he realizes he was lonely. Sure, he was attractive, many people wanted to be around him, to ogle at him mostly. His father was never around, his mother died in child birth too. Sure, he had Tobio, but that came with so many more bitter emotions than just loneliness that Oikawa didn’t even know where to begin with them. Sure, women crowded him when he went into town, but none of them knew him. Oikawa may not have known Iwaizumi long, but it felt like he knew him in a way no one else did. Iwaizumi knew Oikawa’s quirks and he wasn’t phased by them in the slightest. Oikawa felt like he knew Iwaizumi too, even if he wasn’t sure if Iwaizumi felt the same way in that respect or not.

This was what he _needed_ more than money, more than the romantic relationship he wanted with Iwaizumi. All he ever really needed was a friend.

And now… now he had a friend in Iwaizumi, and that was something Oikawa would never trade, not even for a kingdom of the highest pedigree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you like this chapter that both progresses the plot and is straight up fluff at the same time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.  
> As always, always, and always, thank you to Gothitella for helping me out with little nuances.


End file.
